Device commissioning

ABSTRACT

The disclosed subject matter may provide a system and methods for commissioning a device or appliance into a network. A processor may detect the insertion of a removable device into a data receptacle of a first device. The first device may be an appliance or a network controller. Information may be retrieved from or delivered to the removable device. The information may be information specific to the appliance, such as model number, or may be information related to the network controller. For example, information delivered from the network controller to the removable device may include a network address assignment and network protocol to be used by an appliance when the appliance communicates with the network. The removable device may be removed from the first device and inserted into a data receptacle of a second device.

BACKGROUND

Networks can control various devices. Conventionally, each device thatis connected to the network can receive and send data to the networkcontroller. In order to send and receive the data, a network controllermay need to identify each of the devices. Typically, a user enters thedetails of the device through a user interface into the networkcontroller. The user also typically configures network settings for thedevice by providing or identifying a network address, and insures thatthe device and network use the proper network type and implementation.These items often require decisions by the end-user when installing anew, or uncommissioned, piece of equipment.

In addition, the user may also have to confirm that the latestsoftware/firmware is installed on the device. For one or two devices,this is not too difficult of a task, but scale this to fifty or onehundred devices, and it becomes a daunting task both from a complexityand a time standpoint. Furthermore, the user must keep track of devicesas they are removed or added to the network. For example, consider thecase where the network was hardwired into a premises and the user wasleaving the premises. It would take a considerable amount of time toremove each individual device from the network.

Furthermore, “older” equipment typically connects to central controlusing dedicated wiring, whether that is proprietary or standards basedsuch as RS-485, RS-232 and the like. However, networking systems do notalways have robust IP address management and network access managementand are not receptive to changes over time. As a result, there can be aloss of communication with networked devices.

The above described problems may result in a lack of customersatisfaction in a networking system due to the difficulty in setting upthe networking system as well as the system performance.

BRIEF SUMMARY

According to an implementation of the disclosed subject matter, a methodis provided that facilitates commissioning of an appliance into anetwork. A network controller processor may detect the insertion of aremovable device into a data receptacle of the controller. Informationspecific to the appliance may be retrieved from the removable device andmay be used to identify a configuration parameter of the appliance. Theconfiguration parameter may be used to commission the appliance in thenetwork. Upon commissioning the appliance into the network, acommunication path may be established between the appliance and anetwork controller to exchange network settings. The removable devicemay be removed from the controller data receptacle and inserted into adata receptacle of the appliance.

An implementation of the disclosed subject matter may provide a methodusing a pre-installed information used for commissioning an applianceinto a network. The pre-installed information may be stored on aninclusion device. The pre-installed information may be used to identifythe appliance to the network and be used to establish communication withthe network. A processor may detect insertion of the inclusion deviceinto an appliance data receptacle and may retrieve the pre-installedinformation from the inclusion device. A communication path between theappliance and a network controller may be established using thepre-installed information, and the appliance may transmit applianceconfiguration data to the network controller. In response, an indicationmay be output when the appliance is commissioned in the network usingthe data identifying the application configuration. The appliance maytransmit application program interface data to the network controller.

An implementation of the disclosed subject matter may provide a methodusing an appliance-related inclusion device provided by an appliancemanufacturer to commission the appliance into the network. Theappliance-related inclusion device may be inserted into a datareceptacle coupled to a network. Network configuration informationrelated to the appliance may be transferred from the inclusion device.The appliance may be commissioned into the network using theconfiguration information. A user interface may indicate that theappliance has been successfully configured into the network.

An implementation of the disclosed subject matter may be a method thatutilizes an un-keyed inclusion device to commission an appliance into anetwork. The un-keyed inclusion device may be inserted into a networkcontroller of a network. The un-keyed inclusion device may be unrelatedto any network or any device presently commissioned in the network.Network configuration parameters reserved for an appliance to becommissioned in the network may be transferred to the inclusion device.An indicator may indicate that the reserved configuration parametershave been transferred to the inclusion device memory.

An implementation of the disclosed subject matter may be a system thatutilizes an inclusion device to commission an appliance into a network.The system may include an inclusion key docking station having aplurality of receptacles for accepting inclusion key as well as anetwork connection, a RF transceiver, and a network controllerprocessor. Information specific to an appliance may be read from theremovable inclusion key. A configuration parameter of the appliance maybe identified. Using the read information, the appliance may becommissioned into the network, and a communication path between theappliance and network controller may be established to provide networksettings to the appliance. A power line modem may be communicativelycoupled to the processor. The communication path may be over a powerline connected to the appliance.

Additional features, advantages, and implementations of the disclosedsubject matter may be set forth or apparent from consideration of thefollowing detailed description, drawings, and claims. Moreover, it is tobe understood that both the foregoing summary and the following detaileddescription include examples and are intended to provide furtherexplanation without limiting the scope of the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the disclosed subject matter, are incorporated in andconstitute a part of this specification. The drawings also illustrateimplementations of the disclosed subject matter and together with thedetailed description serve to explain the principles of implementationsof the disclosed subject matter. No attempt is made to show structuraldetails in more detail than may be necessary for a fundamentalunderstanding of the disclosed subject matter and various ways in whichit may be practiced.

FIG. 1 shows a network configuration according to an implementation ofthe disclosed subject matter.

FIG. 2 shows a general process flowchart according to an implementationof the disclosed subject matter.

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart according to an implementation of the disclosedsubject matter.

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart according to an implementation of the disclosedsubject matter.

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart according to an implementation of the disclosedsubject matter.

FIG. 6 shows a computer according to an implementation of the disclosedsubject matter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following describes an expeditious and efficient method and systemto setup and maintain dedicated device commissioning with a homecontroller/network that addresses the difficulties of installation andoperation over time. An advantage of the disclosed subject matter is toprovide simple and efficient installation of new appliances, such astelevisions, thermostats, and the like by a user. In addition, equipmentof different vintages and manufacturers may work together.Advantageously, the system may also be robust to the addition andremoval of equipment and appliances from the network as well as homenetwork components such as the network address translation (NAT) routeror the home controller unit.

FIG. 1 shows an example network arrangement according to animplementation of the disclosed subject matter. An appliance 10, 11,such as a television, sprinkler system and the like, may have a datareceptacle for receiving an inclusion key device (I.D.) 10A, 11A. Theinclusion key device 10A, 11A may be provided by the appliance provider.The appliance provider may be a manufacturer, distributor, end-pointseller/reseller, or a service organization that provides appliancecomponents, such as the inclusion key. The inclusion key device 10A, 11Amay be a small device that is connectable to a home network controlleror an inclusion key docking station via a data receptacle such as an USBreceptacle, an Ethernet jack or other suitable connector. The inclusionkey device 10A, 11A may be similar to a Flash drive memory device, or anRF transceiver device used with wireless input devices. The inclusionkey docking station may be a network accessible device that has severaldata receptacles, such as USB or Ethernet ports, into which theinclusion key device 10A, 11A can be connected. The inclusion keydocking station may be connected to or incorporated into the networkcontroller 15. An inclusion key device 10A, 11A may include informationsuch as security information, addressing information, a network name,device identifier, addressing method (for example, DHCP, static IP, nodeID, and the like), an encryption method, an encryption initializationvector, an user personal identification number, such as a PIN, and otherinformation related to the appliance. Note that the information may begeneral information related to the appliance such as the model number,for example, model number XKLR, or may be specific to the specificappliance, such as an appliance serial number and the PIN of the user'smodel XKLR.

The automation network 7 may be managed by the home controller computer15. For example, a user may choose and possibly install a network(Wi-Fi, Z-wave, Zigbee, PLC, and the like) 7. The user may have tofurther set a network name, network identification, addressing method(DHCP, static IP, node ID and the like), set an encryption method or anencryption initialization vector, and install optional encryptionsoftware, if not installed. In addition, optional configuration may beneeded such as the installation of a radio, a demodulator (e.g. PLC), orwiring for custom/proprietary links. The home network controller 15 maybe a personal computer, laptop or a dedicated computer system, which maybe used to manage appliance 10, 11 and other devices in the system 100.The home controller computer 15 may either be connected to the network 7or may be another device that is network accessible, such as accesspoint 13. A home controller computer 15 may include a processor, a powerline modem, and an inclusion key docking station having a plurality ofreceptacles for accepting inclusion key devices, a network connection,and a Wi-Fi transceiver. The home controller may also have thecapability to access external data storage via the internet to obtainupdates of any firmware or software in the appliance. The inclusion keydevice 10A, 11A may allow the appliance to be easily and securelycommissioned or included into the network.

One or more appliances 10, 11, may communicate with remote devices 17,such as local computers, smart phones, tablet computing devices, and thelike, which may connect to other devices via one or more networks 7. Theremote devices 17 may either be wired or wireless devices. The network 7may be a local network, wide-area network, or any other suitablecommunication network or networks suitable for a residence or business.The network 7 may, optionally, allow for a direct connection to anaccess point 13 to an external network 27, such as the internet, WAN,MAN or the like. The appliances 10, 11 may communicate with one or moreservers and/or databases 29. The remote devices 17 may access theappliances 10, 11 via a communication path through the network 7. Theappliances 10, 11 also may access an external network through the accesspoint 13 for services provided by remote servers/databases 29 such ascloud computing arrangements and services. The remote server 29 mayinclude one or more servers and/or databases. The access point 13 mayinclude an RF frequency transceiver, a cable modem, a power linecommunication modem, and/or the like. The RF frequency transceiver maytransmit signals compliant with, for example, IEEE 802.11-compliantstandards (Wi-Fi), as well as Zigbee, Z-wave, X-10 or othercommunication protocols. Implementations for using the inclusion keydevice 10A, 11A may follow a general process. FIG. 2 shows a generalprocess according to an implementation of the presently disclosedsubject matter. A first device may be either an appliance or a networkcontroller. For example, an appliance 10, such as a television, that isnetwork accessible may include an inclusion key device 10A, and may bethe first device. Information may be retrieved from or delivered to theremovable inclusion key device. The information may be informationspecific to the appliance or may be information related to the networkcontroller. For example, the appliance-specific information may be amodel name, software/firmware version number, networking protocolcapabilities, and the like. In the process 200, for example, informationdelivered from the network controller to the removable device mayinclude a network address assignment and network protocol to be used byan appliance when the appliance communicates with the network.

The user may turn the power ON to the appliance, remove the inclusionkey from the appliance, and insert the inclusion key into a home networkcontroller data receptacle or an inclusion key docking stationaccessible by the home network controller. At 210, a processor in thehome network controller may detect the insertion of a removable deviceinto the data receptacle or the inclusion key docking station. Theprocessor may read the data on the inclusion device at 220, and make theappropriate network settings based on appliance-specific data tocommission the device into the network. The user may remove theinclusion device from the home controller upon completion of thecommissioning process. The inclusion device may be returned to a datareceptacle of the appliance. A processor in the appliance may detect theinsertion of the removable device in the appliance data receptacle(230). Of course, at step 210, the first device may be a networkcontroller, and the insertion of the inclusion key device may bedetected by the network controller. In that case at step 230, the seconddevice may be an appliance, and the insertion of the removable inclusionkey device may detected by the appliance processor. In a secureimplementation, the inclusion device remains communicatively coupled tothe home network controller, for example, to allow continuedauthentication of the data being transferred from the network to theappliance and vice versa. The following describes processes according toimplementations of the disclosed subject matter in more detail.

FIG. 3 illustrates a process 300 for commissioning an appliance into anetwork. An appliance may be provided with an inclusion key. Theinclusion key may store data related to the appliance, such as thenetwork type, an appliance password, encryption setting and the like.The appliance-related data may be pre-installed on the inclusion key bythe appliance manufacturer or some other entity. The appliance may ormay not be powered ON. The network controller may detect insertion ofthe appliance inclusion key device into a data receptacle of the networkcontroller (310). The network controller may retrieve informationspecific to the appliance from the stored on the inclusion device (320)and may identify an appliance configuration parameter in the retrieveddata (330). The appliance may be determined to be a new appliance thathas not been previously commissioned in the network, or, in other words,an uncommissioned appliance. The configuration parameter may be selectedfrom at least one of the appliance identification number, a networktype, a network implementation, settings for the appliance, a device IPaddress, and a communication protocol of the appliance. For example,using the retrieved information and without user intervention, the homecontroller may, for example, set at least one of the network type (e.g.,TCP/IP), the network implementation (e.g., Wi-Fi), the television-nativeLAN name (e.g., SONY-SN874578286267343), a password (e.g.,7823423FE2234), the television MAC address, the television IP address(e.g., 192.168.0.100), and a configuration URL such as configURL=setup/,and an encryption setting, which may be a default setting, in thetelevision. Using the appliance configuration data, the appliance may becommissioned in the network using the data identifying the applianceconfiguration (340).

A communication path may be established between the appliance and anetwork controller (350). Continuing with the example, the controllermay use a Wi-Fi link via an access point to connect to the televisionusing network name (SONY™-SN874578286267343), with password(7823423FE2234), and access the TV configuration URL at192.168.0.100/setup/. The communication path may alternatively be, forexample, a wired communication path such as Ethernet or power line, or awireless communication path, such as X-10 or the like. The networkcontroller may provide network settings to the appliance.

In response to the commissioning, the appliance or the inclusion key mayreceive an indication that the appliance has been commissioned in thenetwork. The network controller may also access an application programinterface for the appliance from the removable inclusion key device. Theapplication program interface may facilitate the exchange of databetween the controller and the appliance. For example, the appliance mayprovide state information via the application program interface to thenetwork controller. The appliance state information may include at leastON/OFF state, start time of an operation; maintenance reminders, endtime of a present operation, volume level, brightness level, inputsource and current output state. The network controller may detectremoval of the removable device from the controller data receptacle. Thenetwork controller may be configured to respond to the detected removalof the removable device by decommissioning the appliance from thenetwork. Alternatively, a user may have to provide an input to thenetwork controller to indicate that a device is to be decommissioned.

Alternatively, the network controller may determine that the removabledevice has been inserted into a data receptacle in the appliance, andmay exchange additional data with the appliance via the communicationpath.

In addition, the appliance may be identified as a universal appliancebased on the pre-installed information. For example, the pre-installedinformation may include an encryption key that allows a universalcommunication channel to be established between the appliance, thenetwork and a remote control device, such as a smart phone. Theuniversal communication channel may be a secure channel accessible bythe remote control device, which may be a smart phone. The universalcommunication channel may allow the remote control device to transmitcontrol signals to the appliance as well as receive status and statesignals from the appliance. The control and status signals may beprovided and presented in a similar manner as on network controller userinterface.

The smart phone may execute an application that interacts directly withthe appliance in a similar manner as the network controller. The smartphone may maintain the ability to control the appliance even when thesmart phone is not present at the home. The remotely located smart phonemay communicate with the network controller, which may forward commandsto the appliance, or may continue to directly communicate with theappliance through a network access point via, for example, the internetand Wi-Fi, as shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 illustrates a process 400 for commissioning an appliance into anetwork. A home network may be provided with an inclusion key. Theinclusion key may store pre-installed data related to the network, suchas the network name, a network encryption key and/or a network password.The network-related data may be pre-installed on the inclusion key bythe network controller manufacturer or some other entity. A processorassociated with the appliance may detect insertion of an inclusion keydevice into an appliance data receptacle (410). The appliance processormay retrieve the pre-installed information from the inclusion device(420). The pre-installed information may be a network password, anetwork name, security codes, an encryption key and the like. Using thepre-installed information, a communication path may be establishedbetween the appliance and a network controller (430). The communicationpath may be, for example, a wired communication path such as Ethernet ora power line, or a wireless communication path, such as an802.11-compliant data link or the like. Data identifying the applianceconfiguration may be transmitted to the network controller, for example,over the communication path (440). Using the appliance configurationdata, the appliance may be commissioned in the network using the dataidentifying the application configuration (450). In response to thecommissioning, the appliance or the inclusion key may receive anindication that the appliance has been commissioned in the network usingthe data identifying the application configuration (460). The appliancemay deliver an application program interface to the network controller.The application program interface may facilitate the exchange of databetween the controller and the appliance. A user may remove the networkinclusion key device from the appliance data receptacle and insert itback into a data receptacle of the network controller. A subsequentremoval of the network inclusion key device from the network controllerdata receptacle may be detected by the network controller. The networkcontroller may be configured to respond to the detected removal of theremovable device by decommissioning the appliance from the network.Alternatively, a user may provide an input to the network controller toindicate that a device is to be decommissioned.

FIG. 5 shows a flow chart of an implementation of the disclosed subjectmatter. Inclusion key devices may also be provided that do not containany data related to either a specific appliance or a specific homenetwork. These inclusion key devices may be “un-keyed” devices. Aprocess 500 may use the un-keyed inclusion keys for exchanginginformation useful for commissioning the appliance into the network. Aprocessor in a network controller may detect the insertion of theun-keyed inclusion device (510) and determine that the inclusion deviceis un-keyed. The un-keyed inclusion device may be unrelated to any knownnetwork or any device presently commissioned in the network. The networkcontroller may transfer information for commissioning an appliance intothe network to the un-keyed inclusion device (520). The transferredinformation may include network configuration parameters, such as anetwork name, network passwords, a network encryption key(s), an IPaddress for the appliance, and other information that may be used tocommission the appliance into the network. Upon transferring theinformation to the inclusion key device, an indication of the successfultransfer may be output (530). The output may be, for example, a visualoutput, such as an indicator light, or an audio output, such as abeeping noise. The inclusion key may be removed from the networkcontroller, which may be detected by the network controller (540). Theinclusion key may be inserted into a data receptacle of the appliance tobe commissioned in the network. The network controller information maybe transferred from the inclusion key to the appliance (550). Using theinformation transferred from the inclusion key, an appliance processormay establish a communication path with the network controller (560).The appliance processor and network controller may exchange signals thatmay include additional configuration information related to theappliance, the network or both. The appliance may be commissioned intothe network based on the information, for example, a configurationparameter, on the inclusion key device (570). Configuration parametersmay include at least one of a network type, a network implementationtype, a network name, a network password, a media access controladdress, an internet protocol (IP) address, a configuration programuniversal resource locator, and an encryption setting. An indication maybe provided that the appliance has been successfully commissioned intothe network (580).

The above described implementations may be used in combination with oneanother depending upon the home network, the appliance manufacturer, thelevel of security desired by a user for a particular appliance and thelike.

The inclusion key may take a number of different forms. It may beconfigured to use data receptacles that meet, for example, the standardsfor universal serial bus (USB-plug A or B), secure digital (SD, miniSD,microSD cards), subscriber identity module (SIM) card or a bank chipcard. The inclusion key may include an indicator that may produce avisible or audible indication that the appliance has been commissionedinto the network, or that data has been transferred.

The inclusion key may include communication electronics in addition todata relevant to commissioning an appliance in the network. Thecommunications electronics may include an RF transceiver, such asBluetooth, Zigbee, Z-wave, X-10, Wi-Fi and/or cellular, a wiredcommunications, such as Ethernet, a power line modem, opticalcommunications or the like. For example, the inclusion key may beinserted in a device receptacle of either a home network controller oran inclusion key docking station. After completion of the commissioningprocess, the inclusion key may be used by which ever device it isconnected to communicate with the respective appliance or networkcontroller according to its communication protocol. The inclusion keymay also be inserted into a data receptacle of a communication keydocking station that includes several USB, mini-USB, Ethernet or otherjacks that allow for several inclusion keys to be connected at one timeto a network controller.

Specific examples of the above described implementations include theinstallation of a newly-purchased washing machine. The new washingmachine may be equipped with communication capabilities. Since a washingmachine is often a basement appliance wireless communications may beproblematic, so the washing machine may be equipped with power linecommunications. As in the prior television examples, the inclusion keydevice may be included with the washing machine. The user may remove theinclusion key, and plug it into a data receptacle of the networkcontroller. In this case, the inclusion key may not only be an interfacefor direct provision of information to the home automation networkcontroller. The inclusion key may also contain a power-linemodulator/demodulator configured to communicate with the new washingmachine. For example, the inclusion key device may plug into the networkcontroller as a USB device, but also have a second plug that connects toa safe PLC coupling built into the home automation/network device.Alternatively, the network controller may include a power line modem.Once plugged into the network controller, communication may beestablished between the home controller and the washing machine to allowfor commissioning of the washing machine in to the network.

As mentioned above, the inclusion key may include additional informationsuch as data related to data encryption and authentication. Theinclusion key device may further specify an encryption technique, e.g.CBC, an initialization vector for the encryption, and Java code (or acustom interface in the inclusion key device to include additional datainto the configuration parameters whenever the configuration data istransferred either into or out of the inclusion key device, such asrolling key, and the like. This data, for example, may be used for anauthentication handshake with the appliance or network.

Alternatively, a smart phone may act as an additional security orinformation interface between the appliance and network controller tobroker the commissioning process. For example, the smart phone mayprovide additional information or allow the setting of user preferences.This may be accomplished, for example, using NFC or QR code provisioningwith a smartphone application. In addition, light pulses (using a smartphone video camera) or audio (recorded with a smart phone microphone)may also be used to convey information related to the appliance to thesmart phone for commissioning the appliance into the network.Furthermore, a smart phone enabled with near field communication (NFC)or Bluetooth capability may be used in place of the inclusion device.For example, an appliance may be shipped with an NFC transceiver or tagthat may include the appliance-related information described above.Similarly, the network controller may include an NFC tag or transceiverthat may be read by or may receive data from the NFC-enabled smartphone. Processes similar to those described with respect to FIGS. 2-5may be performed to commission the appliance into the network.

Implementations of the presently disclosed subject matter may beimplemented in and used with a variety of component and networkarchitectures. For example, the home controller or the appliance mayinclude all or a subset of the components illustrated in FIG. 6. FIG. 6is an example computer 20 suitable for implementing implementations ofthe presently disclosed subject matter. The computer 20 includes a bus21 which interconnects major components of the computer 20, such as acentral processor 24, a memory 27 (typically RAM, but which may alsoinclude ROM, flash RAM, or the like), an input/output controller 28, auser display 22, such as a display screen via a display adapter, a userinput interface 26, which may include one or more controllers andassociated user input devices such as a keyboard, mouse, and the like,and may be closely coupled to the I/O controller 28, fixed storage 23,such as a hard drive, flash storage, Fibre Channel network, SAN device,SCSI device, and the like, and a removable media component 25 operativeto control and receive an optical disk, flash drive, and the like.

The bus 21 allows data communication between the central processor 24and the memory 27, which may include read-only memory (ROM) or flashmemory (neither shown), and random access memory (RAM) (not shown), aspreviously noted. The RAM is generally the main memory into which theoperating system and application programs are loaded. The ROM or flashmemory can contain, among other code, the Basic Input-Output system(BIOS) which controls basic hardware operation such as the interactionwith peripheral components. Applications resident with the computer 20are generally stored on and accessed via a computer readable medium,such as a hard disk drive (e.g., fixed storage 23), an optical drive,floppy disk, or other storage medium 25.

The fixed storage 23 may be integral with the computer 20 or may beseparate and accessed through other interfaces. A network interface 29may provide a direct connection to a remote server via a telephone link,to the Internet via an internet service provider (ISP), or a directconnection to a remote server via a direct network link to the Internetvia known techniques. The network interface 29 may provide suchconnection using wireless techniques, including digital cellulartelephone connection, Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD) connection,digital satellite data connection or the like. For example, the networkinterface 29 may allow the computer to communicate with other computersvia one or more local, wide-area, or other networks, as shown in FIG. 1.

Many other devices or components (not shown) may be connected in asimilar manner (e.g., document scanners, digital cameras and so on).Conversely, all of the components shown in FIG. 6 need not be present topractice the present disclosure. The components can be interconnected indifferent ways from that shown. The operation of a computer such as thatshown in FIG. 6 is readily known in the art and is not discussed indetail in this application. Code to implement the present disclosure canbe stored in computer-readable storage media such as one or more of thememory 27, fixed storage 23, removable media 25, or on a remote storagelocation.

More generally, various implementations of the presently disclosedsubject matter may include or be embodied in the form ofcomputer-implemented processes and apparatuses for practicing thoseprocesses. Implementations also may be embodied in the form of acomputer program product having computer program code containinginstructions embodied in non-transitory and/or tangible media, such asfloppy diskettes, CD-ROMs, hard drives, USB (universal serial bus)drives, or any other machine readable storage medium, wherein, when thecomputer program code is loaded into and executed by a computer, thecomputer becomes an apparatus for practicing implementations of thedisclosed subject matter. Implementations also may be embodied in theform of computer program code, for example, whether stored in a storagemedium, loaded into and/or executed by a computer, or transmitted over atransmission medium, such as over electrical wiring or cabling, throughfiber optics, or via electromagnetic radiation, wherein when thecomputer program code is loaded into and executed by a computer, thecomputer becomes an apparatus for practicing implementations of thedisclosed subject matter. When implemented on a general-purposemicroprocessor, the computer program code segments configure themicroprocessor to create specific logic circuits. In certainconfigurations, a set of computer-readable instructions stored on acomputer-readable storage medium may be implemented by a general-purposeprocessor, which may transform the general-purpose processor or a devicecontaining the general-purpose processor into a special-purpose deviceconfigured to implement or carry out the instructions. Implementationsmay be implemented using hardware that may include a processor, such asa general purpose microprocessor and/or an Application SpecificIntegrated Circuit (ASIC) that embodies all or part of the techniquesaccording to implementations of the disclosed subject matter in hardwareand/or firmware. The processor may be coupled to memory, such as RAM,ROM, flash memory, a hard disk or any other device capable of storingelectronic information. The memory may store instructions adapted to beexecuted by the processor to perform the techniques according toimplementations of the disclosed subject matter.

The foregoing description and following appendices, for purpose ofexplanation, have been described with reference to specificimplementations. However, the illustrative discussions above are notintended to be exhaustive or to limit implementations of the disclosedsubject matter to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications andvariations are possible in view of the above teachings. Theimplementations were chosen and described in order to explain theprinciples of implementations of the disclosed subject matter and theirpractical applications, to thereby enable others skilled in the art toutilize those implementations as well as various implementations withvarious modifications as may be suited to the particular usecontemplated.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: detecting an insertionof a key device into a data receptacle of a network accessible device;retrieving, by the network accessible device, security information fromthe key device; and accessing, with the network accessible device, anetwork based on the retrieved security information and based on adetermination that the network accessible device has not previously beencommissioned in the network according to the retrieved securityinformation.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the commissioning thenetwork accessible device into the network comprises: establishing acommunications path between the network accessible device and acontroller; transmitting the retrieved security information to thecontroller from the network accessible device; and commissioning, by thecontroller, the network accessible device into the network based on theretrieved security information.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein thecommissioning further comprises: commissioning the network accessibledevice based on the retrieved security information so as to establish anapplication configuration.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:detecting removal of the key device from the data receptacle of thenetwork accessible device.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:accessing an application program interface for the network accessibledevice from the key device, wherein the application program interfacefacilitates the exchange of data between the controller and the networkaccessible device.
 6. A system comprising: a key docking station havinga data receptacle to accept a key device; a network accessible devicecommunicatively coupled to the key docking station to retrieve securityinformation from the key device; and a controller, communicativelycoupled to the network accessible device, that determines that thenetwork accessible device has not previously been commissioned in anetwork based on the retrieved security information from the key device,and to commission the network accessible device into the network basedon the retrieved security information.
 7. The system of claim 6, whereinthe network accessible device transmits the received securityinformation to the controller.
 8. The system of claim 6, wherein thenetwork accessible device detects removal of the key device from thedata receptacle.
 9. The system of claim 6, wherein the key deviceaccesses an application program interface for the network accessibledevice, and wherein the application program interface facilitates theexchange of data between the controller and the network accessibledevice.
 10. The system of claim 6, wherein the controller commissionsthe network accessible device based on the retrieved securityinformation so as to establish an application configuration.
 11. A keydevice, comprising: security information, wherein when the key device isinserted into a data receptacle of a network accessible device and isdetected, the security information is retrieved by the networkaccessible device from the key device, and the network accessible deviceis commissioned into a network based on the security information andbased on a determination that the network accessible device has notpreviously been commissioned in the network according to the securityinformation.
 12. The key device of claim 11, wherein when the key deviceis inserted into the data receptacle of the network accessible deviceand is detected, the network accessible device is commissioned into thenetwork by establishing a communications path between the networkaccessible device and a controller, transmitting the retrieved securityinformation to the controller from the network accessible device, andcommissioning, by the controller, the network accessible device into thenetwork based on the retrieved security information.
 13. The key deviceof claim 11, wherein the security information from the key device isused to establish an application configuration.
 14. The key device ofclaim 11, wherein the network accessible device detects removal of thekey device from the data receptacle.
 15. The key device of claim 11,wherein an application program interface for the network accessibledevice is accessible from the key device, wherein the applicationprogram interface facilitates the exchange of data between a controllerand the network accessible device.